Illinois @ Iowa preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 20, 2019 ) Illinois 71, Iowa 95

No. 6 seed Iowa looks to rediscover its mojo when it faces 11th-seeded Illinois in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday in Chicago. The Hawkeyes, who have dropped four consecutive games, including three by double digits to fall out of the Top 25 while tumbling to a projected nine seed in the NCAA Tournament, hope to bounce back by taking down the Illini for the fourth straight time.

"Losing those last four games gives us a big chip on our shoulder to make sure we make a run and leave Chicago knowing we gave it our all," Iowa forward Luka Garza told reporters. "We don't want to leave knowing we left something on the table." Illinois recovered from a point-blank miss in the final seconds of regulation by outscoring Northwestern 13-8 in overtime en route to a 74-69 win in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Andres Feliz failed to convert a layup with 1.6 seconds left but atoned for his miss with five points in the extra session to help the Illini win their first game in the conference tournament since 2016. They hope to take another step in the right direction by avenging a 95-71 loss to Iowa earlier in the season. "Our guys were resilient and they competed and that's all I can ask for," Illinois coach Brad Underwood told reporters. "Iowa blitzed us in the first game … and we have to be better."

TV: 9:25 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT ILLINOIS (12-20): Giorgi Bezhanishvili racked up a game-high 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the floor to go along with four rebounds and a pair of steals before fouling out in the final minute of regulation. Trent Frazier scored 21 points after being held to a season-low three points in his previous game while Feliz added 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to register the first double-double of his career. Ayo Dosunmu, who was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team earlier in the week, had a rough outing in his hometown as he was limited to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field.

ABOUT IOWA (21-10): Joe Wieskamp was selected to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team after averaging 11 points and 4.8 rebounds this season while Tyler Cook (15 points, 8.1 rebounds per game) earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors from the media. Garza matched his career high with 25 points to go along with seven rebounds, but the Hawkeyes blew a nine-point lead with 50 seconds remaining in regulation en route to a 93-91 overtime loss to Nebraska in their regular season finale. Jordan Bohannon knocked down four 3-pointers to finish with 20 points while Wieskamp added 14 points and eight rebounds for Iowa, which led by as many as 16 points in the second half.

TIP-INS

1. The winner will face No. 3 Michigan in the quarterfinals on Friday.

2. Garza has registered 20 or more points in seven games this season.

3. Bezhanishvili has scored in double figures nine times in his last 10 contests.

PREDICTION: Illinois 79, Iowa 77